


Dear Green Leaf Elm

by knightingale



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Oliver wasn't on the yacht when it went down
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2015-09-22
Packaged: 2018-04-22 20:59:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4850351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightingale/pseuds/knightingale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starling City assigned ID numbers and email addresses to the trees in all of their public parks so that people could report issues with them like broken branches or leaves covering street signs. Volunteers read and occasionally respond to these messages.</p><p>After Robert Queen dies in a boating accident, his son Oliver decides to get his life together and finally finish his degree, and one of his requirements to graduate is volunteer service. He was assigned a few trees to keep track of and reading the emails was easy since he could do it from any computer so he continued volunteering even after he’d gotten his degree.</p><p>Honestly, it had nothing to do with the woman who started writing to one of his trees the week before he graduated, or the fact that she worked for his company.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dear Green Leaf Elm

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by [this](http://misslilykathryn.tumblr.com/post/129622914399/dear-1037148-wrote-one-admirer-to-a-golden-elm) post. I saw it and my first thought was "but imagine if the person writing to the tree and the person writing back started to fall for each other", and then because Olicity is my OTP and I'd been reading so much Olicity fic at the time the idea of Felicity writing to a tree and Oliver writing back got stuck in my head and now here we are. Its just a silly little thing that made me smile when I wrote it and I hope it makes you smile when you read it too.

**May 29**  
**To: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**  
**From: felicitysmoak@qc.com**

  
Dear Green Leaf Elm,

  
I know it’s been getting pretty hot lately- global warming and all- and you’re looking a little thirsty. I think you’re very pretty with your bright green leaves but they’re turning a bit brownish and I’m becoming concerned. Last week I got so caught up with the lines of code I was processing that I forgot about lunch. By the time I came home from work I had a splitting headache and felt dizzy. I know being dehydrated isn’t a good feeling, so I hope someone will give you a drink of water soon.

  
I hope you feel better soon.

  
Sincerely, Felicity

 

 

**June 3**  
**To: felicitysmoak@qc.com**  
**From: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**

  
Hello Felicity!

  
Thank you for your concern about my leaves turning brown. I was in fact in need of a drink of water. With this heat wave we’ve been having I have been drinking up all my water faster than usual. Thanks to you, I am now soaking up all the H2O I need. Your job sounds hard- much harder than being a tree- but you must be very good at it to get so distracted. Still, people need even more water (and food) than trees do so make sure you take good care of yourself too.

  
Good luck at work!

  
Sincerely, Green Leaf Elm

 

 

**June 4**  
**To: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**  
**From: felicitysmoak@qc.com**

  
Dear Green Leaf Elm,

  
I’m so glad you are feeling better. I can see you from the window in my office and your leaves are looking much brighter- green is a good color for you. I’m sure it’s helped that the heat wave has passed and the weather is cooling down a bit.

  
I guess my job is hard, but I’m very good at it. That sounds like I’m bragging but I’m not. Sometimes people think I don’t deserve the job I have because I’m young, or blonde, or both, but I worked really hard to get where I am and I’m really good at what I do. I graduated from MIT in 3 years and I think that alone entitles me to this position.

  
I guess you never went to school. I’m sure you have a job but to be honest I don’t know exactly what it is that you do. I like my job and I hope you like being a tree.

  
Until next time, Felicity

 

 

**June 10**  
**To: felicitysmoak@qc.com**  
**From: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**

  
Dear Felicity,

  
You went to MIT? Wow! I hear that’s a fantastic school, and to have graduated a whole year early is very impressive. I think you deserve your job, and your bosses must agree. I’m sorry to hear that not all of your coworkers are as amazed by you as I am. I think it’s their loss.

  
I do have a job, and it’s a pretty important one actually. Elm trees, like any other tree, absorb carbon dioxide and other harmful gasses like sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide from the environment. When I photosynthesize and convert those gasses into the nutrients I need to survive- chemical compounds like sugars- I release oxygen back into the environment. This is a pretty important job because of all of the airborne pollutants released into the air by things like cars and factories.

  
I do like being a tree, and I’m glad you like your job too. I hope you have a wonderful day Felicity.

  
Sincerely, Green Leaf Elm

  
P.S. Green is my favorite color

 

 

 **July 1**  
**To: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**  
**From: felicitysmoak@qc.com**

  
Dear Green Leaf Elm,

  
I hope you don’t mind me writing to you about my day. It’s been kind of a weird one. My dad surprised me at work today.

  
I guess that’s not a totally unusual thing for a dad to do, except that it’s been a very long time since my dad actually was my dad. He left my mom and I when I was just a little kid and neither of us have heard from him since. Well, I haven’t at least. I haven’t called my mom in a few weeks but if she had heard from him, I think she would have called me. Then again, I still haven’t called her…

  
He said he wants a second chance to get to know me. I know I should be happy about that but all I feel is angry. He left us without a word and then all of a sudden he comes back and wants to act like that didn’t happen? How am I supposed to be okay with that? My mom worked so hard to give me everything he didn’t. She and I aren’t really close but that doesn’t mean I’m oblivious to all of the sacrifices she made for me. She worked 7 days a week at 2 different casinos to make sure I had the things I needed and to put me through college. We may not have seen eye to eye on my career choice- she’s not really a tech-y person and thought I should just find myself a rich husband- but she still made sure I could go to my dream school. He wasn’t around for any of that. He just made it that much harder.

  
I don’t know what to do. I’m so angry with him but part of me still wants to get to know him. Mostly I want to know why he’s back- why now. What changed that made him come see me after all these years? I don’t really expect you to have any answers for me, I guess I just wanted someone to talk to.

  
Thanks for listening, Felicity

 

 

 **July 5**  
**To: felicitysmoak@qc.com**  
**From: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**

  
Dear Felicity,

  
I’m really sorry to hear that you’re having a difficult time right now. I can tell that you’re hurt on behalf of your mother as well. She sounds like a wonderful lady to have done so much for you.

  
By now you must have guessed that I don’t write these emails myself, seeing as I don’t have hands and the park I live in doesn’t have WiFi- I have a friend who types them for me. Now, I don’t have much experience with this kind of situation, but he does. He lost his father recently. They never spent much time together- his father was always busy with work and he was always busy getting into trouble with his friends- but he tells me that now that his father is gone, he would give anything for another chance to talk to him. He says that, if anything, he wishes he could show him the kind of man he’s become in the wake of his death.

  
I know that his situation is different than yours- he lost his father and yours just came back- but I think you may regret passing up on the opportunity to at least show him what an amazing woman you’ve become in his absence.

  
You’re welcome to write to me about your day whenever you want to Felicity. If nothing else, I am a very good listener.

  
Sincerely, Green Leaf Elm

 

 

 **July 15**  
**To: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**  
**From: felicitysmoak@qc.com**

  
Dear Green Leaf Elm,

  
I messed up. Big time.

  
We had a total system failure today. I mean, everything went down. Fortunately, the security systems I put in place kept the person behind it from gaining access to any of the computers, but a lot of people lost the important documents they were working on when the computers crashed. It’s my fault. I know it is. I should have caught the virus in the system, but I was distracted.

  
I had coffee with my dad this morning. He’s sick- really sick. That’s why he finally came back. The doctors told him he has a year left at most. I don’t really know what to make of that. I get why he would want to come back and get to know me, but I can’t help but feel like that’s kind of selfish. For him to come back and make me care about him, just for him to leave again- permanently… how is that fair?

  
I was so distracted by it all that I completely missed the virus. There’s a lot of people who are mad at me right now, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, a new CEO just took over the company last week and this is his first impression of my work… or lack thereof. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Queen fired me. I probably would if I were him.

  
So now I’m probably going to lose my job and I’ll be forced to move back to Vegas and live with my mother and the only job I’ll be able to get will be at the genius bar at the Apple store. My life is ruined.

  
Sincerely, a soon to be jobless Felicity

 

 

 **July 16**  
**To: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**  
**From: felicitysmoak@qc.com**

Dear Green Leaf Elm,

  
Wow… for once in my life I actually don’t have any words. That’s huge for me.

  
I have spent every moment of today trying to recover all of the documents that were lost when our system went down yesterday while simultaneously waiting for someone to come in and fire me, so when I looked up to find none other than Mr. Queen (who’s not my boss per say, but like… my boss’s boss’s boss) standing in my doorway I was sure I was about to be screwed 6 ways to Sunday… and not in the fun, naked way which I definitely wouldn’t have minded.

  
The last thing I expected was for him to sit beside me and calmly ask me how bad it was, so of course that’s exactly what he did. So I did what I always do. I babbled incessantly and embarrassingly and also slightly inappropriately. And then he shocked me again when, instead of firing me like he probably should have, he told me that the attack on our system wasn’t my fault, and that I shouldn’t panic in trying to fix it. He said I’m the best at what I do and that he has total faith that I would work it all out. He actually complimented me! What’s even weirder… he brought me lunch. We’ve never met before but he said he had a feeling I might skip lunch to keep working (which I had but I have no idea how he would have known that).

  
It was terrifying.

  
I stared at my computer screen for a good 10 minutes after that just trying to un-fry my brain. I don’t even know what’s going on with my life anymore. I’m a mess. I hope your day was less stressful.

  
Sincerely, a very confused Felicity

 

 

 **July 17**  
**To: felicitysmoak@qc.com**  
**From: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**

  
Dear Felicity,

  
I’m glad it all worked out okay for you, but to be honest I knew it would. You’re very smart. If I- a tree- can see that, then your bosses must too. One mistake doesn’t invalidate everything else you’ve done. I hope you’re not working yourself too hard, and your boss obviously does too.

  
I’m sorry to hear about your father. I know you must be in a very difficult position right now. If there’s any way I can help, please tell me. I’m always here to listen.

  
Sincerely, Green Leaf Elm

  
P.S. You’re not a mess. You’re remarkable.

 

 

 **July 18**  
**To: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**  
**From: felicitysmoak@qc.com**

  
Dear Green Leaf Elm,

  
I went to use the bathroom today and when I got back there was a to-go container from the bistro across the street sitting on my desk. There was also a note that said, “People need food and water to keep going- don’t forget to take care of yourself too.” I think Mr. Queen is trying to bribe me into doing better work. If so… it’s working. I’m also a little bit afraid that he is actually trying to poison me but the food is too good for me to really care. If that’s how I go, then so be it.

  
As for my father, I’ve decided to take your friend’s advice. This is the only chance I’ll ever get to know him and I know I’ll regret it later if I pass it up.

  
It finally rained today. I hope you’re enjoying the weather. I’ve always liked the rain- we never really got much of it in Vegas.

  
Please tell your friend thank you for the advice.

  
Sincerely, Felicity

  
P.S. Thank you for remarking on it.

 

 

 **July 20**  
**To: felicitysmoak@qc.com**  
**From: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**

  
Dear Felicity,

  
That’s pretty good advice from your boss, but I don’t think he’s trying to bribe or poison you. I think he just appreciates how good you are at your job and wants to thank you.

  
I’m glad things are working out well for you, and I did enjoy the rain.

  
Sincerely, Green Leaf Elm

 

 

 **July 25**  
**To: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**  
**From: felicitysmoak@qc.com**

  
Dear Green Leaf Elm,

  
Today I was called to Mr. Queen’s office to update the security on his computers. He was busy with someone when I came in and told me just to get started.

  
His screen saver was of you. I know it was you because I could see the Queen Consolidated building in the background.

  
I wonder why.

  
Sincerely, Felicity

 

 

 **July 25**  
**To: Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165**  
**From: felicitysmoak@qc.com**

  
Dear Green Leaf Elm,

  
Oh.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story I've actually posted in a long time and the first I've ever posted on Ao3 so I would LOVE to hear your feedback!!


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